Blog 4. The Count of Monte Cristo

I have read this book first time is when I was around 12 ages. And after 6 years, I have read second times. .After read this book, I read a lot of Alexandre Dumas' book. But I think this book is the best one. I really like the protagonist of this book. This winter vacation I borrow the English version from Central Library. I have not finished my reading. I have a lot of trouble for read this English book, but I still love this book so much.

Apart from 'The Three Musketeers', this is probably Alexandre Dumas' most famous work and one of the greatest novels in Western literature: a novel every literate and educated person should read at least once in their lives.

In this story, Edmond Dantes is an innocent man who was caught in the intrigues of Napoleon's escape from Elba and his 100 days of power until Waterloo. A sailor entrusted with a sealed letter of highest importance by his dying captain, Dantes delivers it into the hands of the evil prosecutor Villefort who, for reasons unkown to him, immediately sends him without trial or appeal to spend the rest of his days at the Chateau D'Iffe: a dark and isolated island prison presumed to be inescapable. With the help of Abbot Faria, a dying prisoner who knows the secret of a great hidden treasure on the small islet of Monte Cristo, Dantes escapes and prepares to unleash his revenge on those who did him wrong. For years he spends his time meticulously preparing his vengeful scheme against the treacherous friends and characters who left him to rot in prison for years and years. He refines his arts of disguise, alchemy, and manipulation to content himself with the ruin of his enemies.

This is a great story for people of all ages and should not be ignored by anyone who has a profound love of literature. I think this is Dumas greatest work far surpassing 'Queen Margo' 'The Three Musketeers' or 'The Corsican Brothers.'

This novel is not a simple tale of simple revenge. The count does not kill his enemies; he brilliantly uses their vices and weaknesses against them. Caderousse's basic greed is turned against him, while Danglars loses the only thing that has any meaning for him. Fernand is deprived of the one thing that he had that he had never earned-his honour. In the process, he loses the source of his initial transgression, making his fate that much more poignant. The plot against Villefort is so complicated that even Monte Cristo loses control of it, resulting in doubt foreign to his nature and remorse that he will not outlive.

I have read The Man in the Iron Mask and The Three Musketeers series, both of which surprised me with their dark aspects (the character and fate of Lady de Winter, for example) and which little resembled the adventure stories distilled from them for children and for film. When I overheard a college student who was reading The Count of Monte Cristo on the bus tell a friend that she couldn't put it down, I was inspired to read it. I couldn't put it down, either, with its nearly seamless plot, dark protagonist, human villains, turbulent historical setting, and larger-than-life sense of mystery. At 1,078 pages, it's imposing, but don't cheat yourself by settling for an abridged version. You'll want to pick up every nuance.